In 2001, Andrea Yates, a Texas mother, drowned her five young children while struggling with postpartum psychosis. Currently, she is still being held in a mental hospital, and she has expressed that she never wants to be released.
According to The Post, Yates refused to attend a hearing last month that would have assessed her eligibility for discharge from the hospital.
Yates has the option to go through an annual review as part of her conviction, but she has consistently chosen not to participate in the assessment process.
According to sources, Yates, now 60 years old, resides in the peaceful environment of Kerrville State Hospital. The facility is designed for individuals who have been acquitted of a criminal offense but have been court-ordered to receive inpatient mental health services.
During her days, she creates beautiful crafts such as greeting cards, which often depict rainbows and butterflies. She then takes her creations to art shows and festivals where she sells them. All the proceeds from her sales are donated to the Yates Children’s Memorial Fund, which provides assistance to individuals struggling with postpartum depression.
Yates frequently spends time on the family website created by her husband and has access to the internet. She uses this platform to view pictures of the children she tragically took away.
On June 20, 2001, Yates drowned her five young children in the bathtub of their suburban Houston home. She was 37 years old at the time.
She repeatedly called 911 after drowning her children. She reported the tragic incident to the authorities and then contacted Rusty, a NASA engineer, to come home from work.
The charges against Yates were severe, as she was accused of committing five counts of capital murder. The prosecution wasted no time in labeling the crime “heinous” and pushing for the death penalty. However, the defense made a compelling argument, stating that Yates was suffering from severe depression and psychosis that stemmed from her recent delivery, ultimately leading to the tragic events of her killing her own children.
Instead of opting for prison, they chose to undergo intensive mental health treatment.
According to court documents, during her session with the jail psychiatrist, she admitted, “I wasn’t raising my children righteously. It was my evil ways that caused them to stumble. I led them down the wrong path and they were doomed to perish in the fires of hell.”
Yates’ legal team appealed the case and was granted a retrial based on her mental state. Eventually, she was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 2006. The judge then ordered her to be sent to Kerrville.
Although Yates has the option to request a hearing to assess her mental state, it is not mandatory for her to do so. As per the court’s decision, she can continue to remain in the facility for the rest of her life. Even though she and her husband are no longer together and he has moved on to a new marriage, they still communicate on a monthly basis.
According to her defense attorney, George Parnham, Yates has been living at Kerrville for the past 17 years and is content and flourishing in her surroundings.
In 2021, Parnham expressed to ABC News that the individual in question is currently in the location that they desire and require to be in.
“Where could she possibly go? What options does she have?” he asked hypothetically.
